A round-up of this week’s top news from Together Money and the world of property

Posted by Together on 10th December 2019 -

A round-up of the week’s news from Together and the world of property.

UK house prices rise despite uncertainty over Brexit and election

UK house prices rebounded in November despite continued uncertainty around the outcome of Brexit and the upcoming general election, according to Halifax.

The average price of a home rose 1% to £234,625 last month marking the largest monthly rise since February. It signals a slight recovery after two months of declines and means home prices are 2.1% higher than a year ago.

(Read more on the story: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/dec/06/uk-house-prices-rise-despite-uncertainty-over-brexit-and-election)

Surge in the number of million-pound property sales across Britain

Britain’s housing market has seen a surge in the number of million-pound property sales as wealthy homebuyers ignore the political uncertainty.

Top-end sales rose by 5% in the first half of this year with buyers and sellers said to be keen to get in ahead of a potential increase in house prices. Estate agents claim hopes of a Conservative majority ahead of next Thursday’s election are helping a sales boom in the Midlands and northern England.

Some 6,891 homes worth more than £1million were sold between January and June 2019, which is 5% up on the first six months of last year. The North East saw a surge in £1m sales of 663% over the period, with the only area to fall being London at -5%.

(Read more on the story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7762895/Surge-number-million-pound-property-sales-Britain.html)

Where are London’s Airbnb hotspots?

London is a city where the likes of Airbnb really thrive, something which has been welcomed by consumers looking for flexible, more affordable short-term accommodation, but has also caused a backlash among residents and local authorities.

But where are London’s most popular Airbnb locations? While Kensington and Chelsea is London’s most costly borough, it’s also the most searched for Airbnb location in the capital, with around 570 people searching for the area in Google every month.

With 400 searches a month, Camden is the second most populat hotspot with the lower price point and similar number of listings available making the area an attractive proposition. Next up on the list are Hammersmith and Fulham, Greenwich, and Islington – all with 340 searches per month.

(Read more on the story here: https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/11/where-are-londons-airbnb-hotspots-google-search-trends-reveal-all)

Who wants to be a property millionaire? Ex-Harrods manager did it…and so can you

An ex-Harrods fashion manager has revealed how she ditched her London life and moved nearly two hundred miles north to build a £1.25m property empire.

Kim Firmin has forged a new career buying and refurbishing houses with her husband Keith after she suffered burn-out while working at the famous Knightsbridge department store.

The 34-year-old had been commuting for two hours each day from her home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which she shared with husband Keith, who had been working in the capital for the Metropolitan Police. Both were finding their well-paid but high-pressured jobs were placing a huge strain on their lives.

The husband-and-wife team snapped up their first property, a run-down three-bedroom Victorian red brick terrace in Liverpool for £49,000. They spent £8,600 completely refurbishing the property into a smart home in just under a month.

Buoyed by their initial success, Kim and Keith soon started buying more properties, continuing to target areas where they could achieve good rental yields, across Merseyside and Lancashire.

Using short-term bridging loans provided by us, they would buy tired and damaged houses - often repossessed or in probate, and use their own money for renovations before letting them out on longer term buy-to-let mortgages.

However, while living in Hertfordshire, they’d been travelling to their investment area multiple times a month, which meant paying out for hotel accommodation, food and petrol to build their portfolio which now numbers 13 properties worth about £1.25m.

Read more on the story: https://togethermoney.com/case-studies/who-wants-to-be-a-property-millionaire-ex-harrods-manager-did-and-so-can-you/ )